O2615City Council Meeting: September 24, 2019 Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER 2615 (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SANTA MONICA AMENDING SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE 4.36.020
REGARDING RELOCATION EXPENSES
WHEREAS, tenants living in rental units exempt from the City’s Rent Stabilization
Ordinance pursuant to Charter Section 1801(c)(4) are at risk of being displaced from
those units due to no fault of their own due to large increases in rent that they are unable
to pay; and
WHEREAS, Government Code Section 7060.1(c) authorizes local governments to
mitigate any adverse impact resulting from tenants being permanently displaced from
their homes through no fault of their own; and
WHEREAS, finding replacement rental housing in the City or surrounding
communities is very difficult irrespective of income;
WHEREAS, judicial decisions interpreting Government Code Section 7060.1(c)
consistently authorize monetary payments as a form of mitigation for displaced tenants;
and
WHEREAS, the City’s long established temporary and permanent relocation
benefits are vital to Santa Monica tenants, especially to those who must vacate their
homes through no fault of their own, and such benefits are consistent with Government
Code Section 7060.1 and decisional precedents; and
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WHEREAS, relocation benefits must be sufficient in amount to reasonably mitigate
the multitude of adverse impacts faced by tenants being permanently or temporarily
displaced from their homes through no fault of their own; and
WHEREAS, enhanced relocation benefits are necessary to cover increased costs
associated with relocations for senior citizens, disabled persons, or persons caring for
minor children; and
WHEREAS, the City Council is authorized to set permanent and temporary
relocation benefit fees by resolution; and
WHEREAS, on January 8, 2019, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 11158
(CCS) establishing permanent and temporary relocation benefit fees; and
WHEREAS, these permanent and temporary relocation benefits are reasonably
necessary and do not impose a prohibitive price on landlords’ right to exit the rental
housing business.
SECTION 1. Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 4.36.020 is hereby amended
to read as follows:
4.36.020 When permanent relocation fee required.
(a) A landlord shall pay a relocation fee to a tenant whose tenancy is terminated
or caused to be terminated in any of the following circumstances:
(1) The landlord has filed a notice of intent to withdraw the tenant’s rental
housing unit from the rental housing market pursuant to Government Code Section
7060 et seq.
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(2) The landlord has filed a notice of intent to recover possession of the
tenant’s rental housing unit pursuant to Section 1806(a)(8), 1806(a)(9), 2304(a)(8),
or 2304(a)(9) of the City Charter.
(3) The landlord has filed an application for removal permit pursuant to
City Charter Section 1803(t) to demolish or otherwise withdraw the tenant’s rental
housing unit from the rental housing market. For purposes of this subsection, a
tenant’s rental housing unit does not include a single-family home as defined in
City Charter Section 2302 but does include any unit that was illegally converted to
residential use.
(4) The landlord has been granted an exemption from provisions
governing controlled rental units as provided for by Charter Section 1801(c)(4) and,
at any time thereafter, has notified the tenant of intent to increase the rent in an
amount exceeding the sum of any increase that would have been permitted
pursuant to City Charter Section 1805 and any surcharges authorized by the Rent
Control Board.
(b) A relocation fee required pursuant to this Chapter shall be due and payable
to a tenant after the tenant receives written notice from either the landlord or the Santa
Monica Rent Control Board of any circumstance set forth in subdivision (a) above.
(c) A relocation fee required by this Chapter shall be due and payable to a
tenant whether or not the landlord actually utilizes the rental housing unit for the
purposes described in subsection (a).
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SECTION 2. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or appendices
thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, to the extent of such
inconsistencies and no further, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary
to effect the provisions of this Ordinance.
SECTION 3. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this
Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any
court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining
portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed
this Ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not
declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion of the
ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 4. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage
of this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the
official newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall become
effective 30 days from its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_________________________
LANE DILG
City Attorney
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Approved and adopted this 24th day of September, 2019.
_____________________________
G l e a m D a v i s , M a y o r
State of California )
County of Los Angeles ) ss.
City of Santa Monica )
I, Denise Anderson-Warren, City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do
hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance No. 2615 (CCS) had its introduction
on September 10, 2019, and was adopted at the Santa Monica City Council
meeting held on September 24, 2019, by the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Morena, McKeown, Himmelrich, Winterer, Jara,
Mayor Pro Tem O’Day, Mayor Davis
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ATTEST:
_____________________________________ _________________
Denise Anderson-Warren, City Clerk Date
A summary of Ordinance No. 2615 (CCS) was duly published pursuant to
California Government Code Section 40806.
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10/3/2019